Explore Malcesine and Drive to Venice

Day 4 we got ready and headed to the hotel's restaurant for breakfast. It was a full continental breakfast spread with omelet station, smoked salmon, Charcuterie, fruits etc. We thoroughly enjoyed the breakfast and ate way too much. After breakfast, we headed to Malcesine. It was a 20 minute beautiful drive with people cycling, the lake full of para-surfers, boats and lots of antique convertibles on the road (possibly coming from a road show.

Just entering the town of Malcesine we knew it was going to amazing. We were lucky to get parking in the lot closest to the castle. The cobblestone paths through narrow streets surrounded by shops and restaurants were amazing. We headed to the castle. The castle had small little museums spread across the castle. The one I like the most had an animated video and exhibit explaining the struggle between Milan and Venice to take control of Lake Garda. The best part though was the views from the castle’s highest tower. It is quite amazing that they have kept it open for public. The 360-degree views were breathtaking, makings for some best panoramic pictures with Malcasine town on one side and gorgeous lake Garda on the other.

After the castle, we took a break in the town. Shailaja and I got wine while the kids enjoyed their soda and appetizers. We didn’t have much of an appetite for lunch given our heavy breakfast. We strolled a bit around the town and then started for Venice. We decided to skip the cable car as it was a cloudy day.

Since we rented the car we all talked about stopping in a random town on our way and having our meal. So today for our late lunch we decided to do exactly that on our way to Venice. So 45 minutes into our journey around 2 pm we exited the Autostrada and entered a random town. There was a beautiful castle on top of the hill and we were at the base. It was a decent size town but it was totally deserted with all the shops and restaurants closed. It was really spooky. We went through the narrow alleys and saw only three or four people in all. We decided to quickly get back on the Autostrada and head towards Venice. We stopped in Verona for a quick lunch and coffee.

In Venice, we parked at Garage San Marcos (€32/day). Our host, Allysandra, meet us right at the garage and walked us to our flat. About 10 mins walk. Venice right from the start was wonderful. We all very skeptical about Venice being smelly due to water, full of mosquitoes, etc etc. but all the buzz of the ferries, boat, and people was just amazing. Our flat was in an old building in Santa Croce but the flat was recently renovated and very modern.

After relaxing in the flat for a while we left for dinner to the Dorsoduro area. We walked past the Campo San Margarita, it is the university area with a lot of youngsters and full of life. We then stopped at a bar (name) for wine and Cicheti (small appetizers or tapas). And then had dinner at name, which we just found while walking. After dinner the kids wanted gelato so we headed back to Campo San Margarita, all gelato places were closed but the area was now even more packed with very little place to walk, full of youngsters drinking, enjoying, and being loud. Kids felt a little out of place and were getting a bit scared. So we went back to the apartment dead tired after a long very enjoyable day.Read more